X-ray Imaging

X-ray imaging research at LAS encompasses technological, methodological, and experimental aspects of 2D, 3D and 4D mapping of materials structure from macroscopic down to sub-microscopic length scales. A particular emphasis of research activities is the development of fast, time-resolved methods which allow dynamic processes such as cell growth or materials processing to be investigated.

The main X-ray imaging research activities at LAS cover technical and methodological research and development in the fields of:

X-ray imaging research at LAS makes use of facilities available both at the synchrotron radiation source ANKA at KIT, as well as at the ESRF. These facilities encompass beamlines for a wide range of tomographic and diffraction-imaging applications and off-line laboratories for radiography and tomography in absorption contrast (distribution of the attenuation coefficients in 2D and 3D), propagation-based phase contrast imaging for low-Z and weakly absorbing materials, element-specific imaging at absorption edges for mapping the spatial distribution of specific elements. Further available techniques include full-field X-ray microdiffraction (Rocking Curve) imaging with a spatial resolution at or below the 1 µm scale for analysis and quantification of the spatial distribution of crystal lattice misorientations, defect densities and of local lattice quality in crystalline specimens, and tomography and laminography for 3D imaging of objects in absorption and phase contrast.